Greens will campaign to re-join EU post-Brexit

Greens will campaign to re-join EU post-Brexit

LEADING Green politicians are to begin campaigning for Scotland and Northern Ireland to re-join the EU immediately after Brexit.

The pledge will be formally made at the Scottish Greens' spring conference this weekend.

Senior Scottish Greens and Steven Agnew, the leader of Green Party Northern Ireland, will sign the pledge at the conference in Greenock.

Under the agreement, the Scottish Greens would be free to campaign for an independent Scotland to become a full EU member or, in the event that Scotland is not yet independent, for the UK to re-join.

Meanwhile, Agnew will deliver a keynote speech at Saturday's conference saying that there must be no hard Irish border.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Agnew said: “If the UK government is earnest in its insistence that there will be no hard border on the island of Ireland, then there is no getting around it – we must remain in the Customs Union.

“This may upset the Prime Minister and the DUP, but a necessary consequence of leaving the Customs Union would be a hard border and the sooner they face this reality, the sooner we can all move on.

“Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU by a majority of 56% to 44%, and we need to have a deal that reflects that.”

West of Scotland Green MSP Ross Greer will open the conference with a claim that his party is “leading the change in Scottish politics” by protecting local services.

Greer, the Scottish Greens’ Europe spokesman, said: “Greens have long been committed to cooperation, partnership and internationalism and the European Green movement has shown this in its solidarity and cooperation over Brexit.

“We have been at the forefront of the campaign to keep Scotland and the UK in Europe. So while other parties tear themselves apart over the issue, or undermine their own internal democracy in an attempt to avoid an open debate at their conference, the Green movement on these islands is taking a positive step forward together, ensuring that if the Tories’ extreme Brexit is successful, we are in a position on day one to lead the campaign for the UK to recommit to the European project, and to a people’s Europe.”

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